What Is A Good Family Dog?

So, What is a Good Family Dog?

Are certain breeds better than others? Or, is it the way the owner’s raise and train their dog?

My dogs are all good family dogs…in fact, they seem to think they are human sometimes and can sit on the couch…

One thing I’ve learned is that all dogs have their own personality no matter what breed.

Some are very easy to train while others take more time to learn. They all learn at different paces, but using consistent, daily training is much more productive than training only once in a while.

For example, potty training is something you need to do every day for a puppy for as long as it takes for them to learn. You can’t expect your pup to learn it in only a day or just doing it one time. You’ll never teach it to go outside to go potty at that rate.

Many dogs are very gentle in nature while others have a tendency toward being aggressive, especially if they’re not trained right.

One thing you should never do is hit your dog if it isn’t doing exactly what you want when you’re trying to train it, or at any time! This only leads to the dog not trusting you and may make the dog become aggressive towards people, which is not a good thing for a family dog.

You definitely do not want your kids being around an aggressive dog since kids, especially younger ones are often a bit rough and sometimes do hit the dog either accidentally or sometimes on purpose…not knowing any better. The dog doesn’t really know what reason it got hit for and may end up biting the child.

A lot of times this happens because it just couldn’t get away from the child or the dog keeps getting hit and has had enough…so, it is always a good idea to watch your children while they are with the dog whether it is known to be aggressive or not!

Even the best tempered people blow up sometimes and the same goes for dogs….they can only handle so much! If you have children you know how they act sometimes!

Traits of a Good Family Dog

Loving-doesn’t mind getting hugs and kisses from the kids

Playful-has enough energy to keep up with the kids and enjoys playing games and running around with them

Sociable-gets along well with other people and animals

Minds its manners-in other words, well trained not to do certain things such as jump on people, bite at or chew on fingers while playing, etc.

A good thing to do is to train your dog to be family friendly…or in other words, to obey simple commands such as the sit, stay, heel, and come commands. It’s also a great idea to teach your dog not to jump on everyone when they come through the door…whether it is you, your kids, or visitors.

If you need help or advice on training your dog tolisten to you and behave properly then check out these books at Amazon!

Although there are a lot more breeds that are known to be great with kids, these are the 10 that came to mind…

Labrador Retriever

Golden Retriever

Beagle

Bernese Mountain Dog

Border Collie

Pug

Boston Terrier

Boxer

Shih Tzu

Collie

The list above is only so you can get an idea of what breeds are more likely to be good with kids….there are a lot more….if you’d like to learn more about the different dog breeds and their characteristics you can read books such as Encyclopedia of Dog Breeds by D. Caroline Coile, Ph.D.

Another one you may want to check out is The Dog Encyclopedia by DK which is another excellent book on the different dog breeds and their characteristics.

Each dog is definitely different in my opinion. They all have their own personality, but a lot of the time they do show certain characteristics of their specific breed. For example, some breeds such as the Australian Cattle Dog or Blue Heeler is categorized as a working breed if I remember correctly.

Dogs that fall into this category, the working breeds, are happiest being busy and having a job to do. Since it’s in their breed’s nature to be active, they may not always be the best breed to choose for a family that isn’t very active.

But, on the other hand, if your family is quite active and have the energy to keep up with a dog like this, a working dog can also be an excellent choice. Usually these dogs are very intelligent and eager to learn, but if they don’t get enough attention, or just aren’t kept busy, they can become problem dogs with too much energy to burn off.

It all depends on the type of dog you’d like to have…

Would you want one that is full of energy and wanting to be busy doing things most of the day, or one that is more of a couch potato? Or, one that is somewhere in the middle of these two?

Think about the activities you and your family pursue and what kind of lifestyle you live first. What kind of job do you have? Would it require your dog to be home alone a lot? How old are your kids and what personality do they have?

So, my best advice is to think about these questions and answer them honestly. Once you do that, go and do some research on the different dog breeds to find one that would be more likely to suit you and your family before going out and choosing a puppy or even an older dog. Make a list of the traits you’d like your new dog to have and then look up breeds that usually have these traits.

By comparing the pros and cons between each potential dog breed that you may have on your list, then it should make it a little easier to choose one more suited to your family.

More Books about Dog Breeds and the characteristics or traits of each breed you’ll find helpful…

Here’s what breed I believe is best…I’ve had dogs since as long as I can remember, from small dogs to very large ones. Mixed breeds to purebreds….

The Dog breed I think is THE best…

Is ANY breed of dog.

That’s right, I truly believe that any breed of dog is good with kids as long as youtreat it right and train it right….

And, also teach your children to treat dogs with kindness and gentleness. Never hit!Always supervise young children since you just never know what could happen even in just a few minutes…bad things can happen and when they do, they happen quick!